It's springtime again when windows are raised and gentle breezes bring the fragrance of her blooms to beckon us outdoors. And no bloom beckons us like the Queen of Flowers - the rose. On April 29, the Santa Clarita Valley Rose Society kicks off the spring season with tours of two private rose gardens at members' homes, followed by other exciting events throughout the year.

"This is a very special event with lots of beautiful roses," said local society President Kitty Belendez, who, with friend Steve Jones, co-founded the SCV Rose Society. Steve, a master consulting rosarian, was recently elected as president of the National Rose Society.

"When we began we only had 10 members," said Kitty. "Now we have over 400 members with 66 percent of them in Santa Clarita. We also have members from other states as far away as Florida, Texas, and even Hawaii."

Since those early days, the Santa Clarita Valley Rose Society has really grown and developed. It boasts its own website at www.scvrs.homestead.com with information on everything from calendar events to articles on roses and their care to links to other rose-related information. In fact, Kitty, also a master consulting rosarian, edits and produces Rose Ecstasy, the SCV Rose Society newsletter that has won numerous awards for every eligible year of its publication.

Kitty has authored over 300 published articles on rose horticulture. ARS has presented Kitty with Awards of Merit for 25 of her articles since 1993.

The SCV Rose Society also has regular monthly meetings the second Sunday of each month in Newhall at 2:30 p.m. at the SCV Senior Center. The meetings often feature guest speakers on rose topics, door prizes, raffles, and a Little Rose Show.

"We welcome all visitors," added Kitty.

This month's private rose garden tours will be open to the public. The morning tour will be at the home of Ron and Akiko Strathmann in Canyon Country, and the afternoon tour will be at the home of Jeff and Suzy Miladin in Newhall.

From 9 a.m. to 11:30 guests can visit the Strathmanns's quarter-acre Canyon Country garden where throughout their five years there, they have amassed more than 350 roses of all kinds. Miniatures, shrubs, hybrid teas, floribundas, climbers, English and antique roses all compete for attention on a hillside property that presented a unique challenge because it was mostly bedrock. The Strathmanns overcame the location's limitations with creative ways to grow their roses, many in containers and climbing on arches. The garden also features eight special hummingbird feeding stations that attract several hundred birds a day. Together with the plants, the birds, and the spectacular hilltop view of the Angeles National Forest, it is truly a feast for the senses.

"...they have amassed MORE THAN 350 ROSES of all kinds. Miniatures, shrubs, hybrid teas, floribundas, climbers, English and antique roses all compete for attention on a hillside property... The garden also features eight special HUMMINGBIRD feeding stations that attract several hundred birds a day."

From 12:30 to 3 p.m., visitors can enjoy the beautifully-landscaped garden of Jeff and Suzy Miladin in Newhall, a half-acre property in the Placerita Canyon area with more than 120 roses of all types in a southwest-style setting together with huge specimens of cactus and succulents.

"Light refreshments will be served on both tours," said Kitty, "but we suggest bringing your own lunch to eat along the way. Also be sure to wear comfortable walking shoes and a sun hat."

Several SCV Rose Society member rosarians will be available at the tours to answer any questions on growing roses in the Santa Clarita Valley.

Another exciting Santa Clarita Valley Rose Society event will be the 14th-annual "Wild West" Rose Festival and Show the weekend of October 13 at the William S. Hart Hall in Newhall. It will be open to the public, free of charge, and people are invited to bring their own roses to show.

This year's event has been expanded to a two days, and the City of Santa Clarita has signed on as a sponsor.

"All rose growers are welcome to exhibit at our show, including novices and children. You do not have to be a member of the society to exhibit and there are no entry fees," said Kitty. "Just bring your roses as the society will furnish the vases."

There will be 68 prizes (crystal giftware) and more than 500 ribbons awarded. Five large Waterford crystal trophies are given to the top roses. Two novices will be eligible to win a crystal prize as well as a gift certificate from Green Thumb Nursery. There will be a trophy for a new show class for the best rose grown in the Santa Clarita Valley.


The Santa Clarita Valley Rose Society meets at the SCV Senior Center, located at 22900 Market Street in Newhall, on the second Sunday of the month at 2:30 p.m. Annual membership dues are $15 per family, which includes 10 issues of the award-winning bulletin Rose Ecstasy. For more information visit www.scvrs.homestead.com.


A Closer Look at the Rose

According to fossil record, the rose is 35 million years old. Since man first beheld its tender beauty and smelled its heavenly bouquet, we have sought to capture its allure and make it our own.

Garden cultivation of roses began some 5,000 years ago, probably in China. It was one of the flowers in the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. The Romans' commercial cultivation of roses was so sophisticated, they developed a hot-house technology that allowed them to "force" roses into more bloom. The rose features prominently in many of our oldest folk and fairy tales. Today there are innumerable varieties of rose, and are among the most diverse set of flowering plants.

"They come in every color except two," said SCV Rose Society President Kitty Belendez. "There is no true blue and no black."

Otherwise, roses can be as different from each other as they are from other types of flowers.

"There are roses with thorns and roses without," said Kitty. "Some of them have foliage on the stems, some don't. Some have an aroma, some don't. They bloom in clusters or in single blossoms. There are vines and there are shrubs. Large blossoms, small ones, some with more petals than others."

What kind of roses grow well in Santa Clarita? According to Ms. Belendez, it's easy to grow beautiful roses in our valley.

"While we don't have perfect weather like San Diego, it rarely freezes here. They don't go really dormant here, and can bloom all year 'round," she informs.

Because of the dry climate, roses here don't suffer from many of the insect- and fungal-borne diseases that affect roses in other parts of the world.

"The only mistake people make here in the SCV is in not watering their roses enough during the hot summer months. Roses are not drought tolerant and must be well watered."